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Lightyear

Het ontwikkelen van technologie voor deels direct op zonne-energie aangedreven en zeer energie-efficiënte elektrische voertuigen.

Lobbying Activity

Meeting with Henrik Hololei (Director-General Mobility and Transport)

8 Sept 2022 · solar-electric vehicles

Meeting with Daniel Mes (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

13 Jul 2022 · Solar strategy and solar mobility

Response to EU Solar Energy Communication

11 Apr 2022

In many different parts of the world (and most notibly the EU), mobility propelled by vehicle-integrated photovoltaic panels (VIPV) have seen a massive boost the last few years. One of these companies is Lightyear (Helmond, NL) building the most efficient Battery Electric Vehicle supported by solar energy. G. Noteboom, MSc. (TU Delft) has written a relevant thesis on the impact solar-electric vehicles have on the energy grid and mobility. The full thesis is attached. --- While the expected rise of electric vehicles (EVs) in The Netherlands could attenuate climate change, new challenges arise; one challenge is that large-scale penetration of EVs could increase system costs. This research thesis introduces the highly efficient Solar Electric Vehicle (SEV), the Dutch Lightyear One, as an alternative for the conventional Battery Electric Vehicle (BEV). A SEV has a low energy consumption and generates solar electricity for its use. Therefore, a SEV is expected to be less dependent on the grid and the charging infrastructure than the BEV. Accordingly, this research aimed at exploring to what extent SEVs could reduce the system costs of future electric mobility. Hence, the main question is: ‘What are the system costs of SEVs compared to BEVs?’ The results showed that the charging infrastructure primarily influences the system cost savings that could be realized with a 100% SEV fleet compared to the 100% BEV fleet. In a winter week, the SEV reduces the maximum required charging infrastructure up to ~3 times; a belonging cost difference of ~€8 billion was estimated until 2050. In a week with high solar irradiance, the charging requirement for the SEV could even be 8 times lower than for the BEV. The difference is caused by the prognosed Dutch charging behaviour that is influenced by the smart charging strategy; and the low electricity consumption and electricity solar yields of the SEV accounting for respectively ~66% and ~34% of the cost reduction. In contrast to the charging infrastructure, the difference between the SEV and the BEV in grid impact was slightly visible in the peak loads. The small difference in peak loads was primarily caused by the prognosed charging behaviour that was influenced by the smart charging strategy in combination with the low energy consumption and the solar energy yields of the SEV. However, the difference is not significant enough to require extra grid reinforcements for the BEV compared to the SEV; no difference in costs for the grid was presented. In conclusion, an estimated total system cost saving of ~€8 billion caused by the reduced charging infrastructure requirement, was presented in this thesis.
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Meeting with Daniel Mes (Cabinet of Executive Vice-President Frans Timmermans)

24 Jun 2021 · Site visit to solar car production plant in Helmond

Meeting with Frans Timmermans (Executive Vice-President)

3 Dec 2019 · Sustainable mobility and in particular cars on sun energy